Inter-relationships between body mass index, C-reactive protein and blood pressure in a Hispanic pediatric population
Patricio López-Jaramillo1, Elizabeth Herrera, Ronald G Garcia
1VILANO Group, Research Institute, Fundación Cardiovascular de Colombia, Bucaramanga, Colombia. joselopez@fcv.org
Insights
In Hispanic children, higher adiposity (body mass index) correlated with increased systolic blood pressure (SBP). However, inflammation markers (C-reactive protein) did not show a significant link to SBP in this pediatric group.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors
- Obesity and Inflammation Research
Background:
- The relationship between inflammation, obesity, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is established in adults, but data in children are limited.
- Understanding these links in pediatric populations is crucial for early CVD risk assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the inter-relationships between adiposity, C-reactive protein (CRP) plasma concentrations, and blood pressure levels.
- To examine these associations within a Hispanic pediatric population.
Main Methods:
- Study included 325 schoolchildren (mean age 10.0 years) from Bucaramanga, Colombia.
- Measurements included blood pressure, lipid profile, glucose, and CRP plasma concentration.
- Body mass index (BMI) assessed nutritional status; Spearman's test used for correlations.
Main Results:
- A positive correlation was observed between BMI and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in both genders.
- CRP and SBP levels were positively correlated in boys.
- Multivariate analysis confirmed adiposity's association with blood pressure, but CRP lost its significance.
Conclusions:
- Adiposity correlates with CRP and SBP in Hispanic children, similar to Caucasian populations.
- No significant relationship was found between low-grade inflammation (CRP) and SBP in this cohort.
- Further research is needed to explore mechanisms linking childhood obesity and hypertension, and their impact on cardiovascular risk.
Background:
The link between inflammation, obesity, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been described in adult populations but few data are available with respect to children. The aim of this study was to describe the inter-relationships between adiposity, C-reactive protein (CRP) plasma concentrations, and blood pressure levels in a Hispanic pediatric population.
Methods:
We included 325 schoolchildren (mean age, 10.0 years) selected from the school population of Bucaramanga, Colombia. Blood pressure, lipid profile, glucose, and CRP plasma concentration were measured using standard procedures. Body mass index (BMI) was used for evaluating the children's nutritional condition. Correlation coefficients were calculated for all the variables using Spearman's test.
Results:
As expected, a positive correlation was found between BMI and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in both genders, and between CRP and SBP levels in boys. After a multivariate regression analysis, the association between adiposity and blood pressure remained significant, whereas the CRP concentrations were no longer associated with SBP.
Conclusions:
The results obtained in our study of Hispanic school-age children show that adiposity is correlated with CRP concentrations and SBP values as has been earlier described in Caucasian populations. However, we failed to find a significant relationship between low-grade inflammation and SBP levels. Further studies are needed in order to explore alternative pathophysiological mechanisms linking obesity and high blood pressure in children and to define the impact of these associations on the cardiovascular risk of our pediatric population.
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